


Compass Through Time

by oi_felix



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Attempt at Humor, Babysitting, Banter, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Help, How Do I Tag, Humor, Jisung in a dress, Jisung makes history, Kid Fic, Kinda, Kissing, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Time Travel, all of skz is mentioned at some point, but in paris, but not really, different time era, minsung lowkey live together, minsungbingo, oh yeah jeongin is a kid, they loose jeongin, wow I suck at this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:02:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25415113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oi_felix/pseuds/oi_felix
Summary: Minho and Jisung were supposed to binge-watch movies for the entire day, but the universe has other plansones that involve toddlers, ancient rome, and making historyoh, and maybe a few marriages along the wayalternatively: minsung babysit jeongin and lose him once (or twice).
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 12
Kudos: 102
Collections: MINSUNG BINGO: Round One





	Compass Through Time

**Author's Note:**

> 1] hi so this is my first fic I'm posting on ao3 :) 
> 
> 2] this is for the minsung bingo! [@minsungbingo](https://twitter.com/minsungbingo)
> 
> 3] the tropes this fills: time travel, different time era, free space (kid fic)
> 
> 4] there's some Latin in this fic and I provided some translations but I'm not a scholar so sorry in advance for mistakes ;-;

Saturdays were Jisung’s favorite day of the week. There was no school, no work, no obligation to be anywhere unless he wanted to be. Coincidentally, Minho hated Saturdays. Unlike Jisung, Minho’s part-time job happened to be on Saturdays, meaning his one free day (Sundays were for cramming homework and essays) was wasted on teaching 3-year-olds how to flop around aesthetically (some people called it dancing). Luckily for Minho, his classes were canceled due to a stomach bug going around the studio.

So here he was: sitting on Jisung’s old but comfy couch with a steaming bag of popcorn and some cheap pirated horror film playing in the background. Jisung was almost asleep beside him, head lolling back before he jerked up. Once he vaguely recognized his surroundings, he tried to go back to sleep, only for the same thing to happen again. Minho snickered every time. They had just finished their fourth horror movie (Insidious) when they heard a pounding resonate through the living room.

Both boys shot up, screaming and clinging to each other. Jisung started crying out of fear, babbling “We’re gonna die! I’m too young and handsome to die!” and “Minho go check the door! You’re ugly and old, you can die”. Jisung had always been the sensitive one between them. He couldn’t go through one movie without crying (especially since Minho always picked horror).

The elder scrunched his face at the brown hair tickling his nose. He pushed Jisung away from him, trying to catch his breath. Finally, Minho unlatched Jisung’s arms and glanced over at the brown wooden door that seemed much more threatening than it had a few hours ago. Reluctantly, Minho stood up, slowly inching his way towards the door. Another knock rang through the air before Minho finally pulled the door open to reveal a harmless looking man with bleached curly hair.

“Oh. Hey Chan,” Minho greeted. Chan was an old friend of Minho’s. They had grown up together and were inseparable. They attended the same school until Chan moved away to Australia. However, he returned back to Paris (where Minho had been living for a few years) after his graduation to marry Hyunjin and raise their son. The 3-year-old, Jeongin, was currently hiding behind his father, head peeking out curiously. His wide eyes stared at Minho, hand clutching Chan's pant leg.

“Hi Jeongin,” Minho said with a warm smile. Jeongin simply hid further behind his father’s legs. Minho had never been good with children, he was too serious and scary looking to gain their trust. Jisung, who was energetic and fun, never had any trouble.

“I know this is sudden and all, but would you mind looking after Jeongin for the day? Woojin and I need to go visit his parents. They’re sick and we don’t want Jeongin catching anything from them,” he explained.

“Um, sure. It’s not like Jisung and I had anything better to do. How did you know I was here anyway?” Minho asked.

“Your roommate told me. He’s a funny one,” Chan mused.

“Yeah, I guess. He doesn’t talk much. Say hi to Jinnie for me, I miss him.”

“Will do!” Chan smiled before looking down at Jeongin who was lazily leaning against him.

“Jeongin, buddy this is Uncle Minho. He and Uncle Jisung are gonna stay with you while Daddy and Appa go visit Grandpa,” Chan simplified for his son. Jeongin looked up at Chan with furrowed brows. He was silent for a minute, staring at his father and trying to comprehend.

“No. Appa stay,” he demanded. Chan sighed and squatted down to Jeongin’s level, grabbing one of his tiny hands in his larger ones. Minho couldn’t imagine how small Jeongin would look when Hyunjin was holding him.

“Baby, you know I can’t. I have to go with Daddy. He’ll be alone if I don’t go and you don’t want that, right?” Jeongin nodded. “So I have to go. Besides, Uncle Minho and Jisung will make sure you have _so_ much fun. Right, Uncle Minho?” Chan said in a somewhat threatening tone.

“Of course!” He quickly agreed. Jeongin pouted at his dad then looked up at Minho, pouting even more. The boy sighed dramatically before dropping his hands to his sides.

“Fine.” Chan smiled.

“I’ll be back before you know it, bub,” the blonde assured. Chan ruffled Jeongin’s black hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Love you kiddo. Now be a good boy for Uncle Minho and Jisung.” And with that Chan stood up, waving at Minho and climbing into his Chevrolet. Stupid rich people.

Minho glanced down at Jeongin, who looked ready to cry, eyes glazed over and lower lip wobbling. Minho grimaced. He had no idea what to do. This was going to be a nightmare.

Only after a promise of candy did Minho finally manage to coax Jeongin into the house without any tears being spilled. Minho gently guided the boy into the living room where Jisung was still curled up fearfully on the couch. Jisung perked up when Minho entered the room. He suddenly jumped up, yelling “Jeongin!” and embraced the boy in a tight hug. Jeongin giggled and hugged back.

“Hi Uncle Squirrel,” he greeted. Minho raised an eyebrow at Jisung who sheepishly looked away. Jeongin squished Jisung’s cheeks, blabbering about how they were like a squirrel’s and how he wanted cute cheeks too.

“You are cute, Jeongin. Just like a little fox,” Jisung commented, tickling the boy’s tummy gently. Minho felt a sense of relief watching the two play. At least one of them was good with kids.

Jisung picked Jeongin up and spun him around making silly noises to entertain him. Minho made himself busy by trying to find something suitable for them to eat.

Jeongin eventually got tired of playing pretend, so the three of them had settled on the couch, Jeongin squished between them happily, ready to watch _Spiderman: Homecoming_. Minho couldn’t help but think how much they looked like a family. He decided to not explore the meaning of that thought and instead distract himself with the movie. Before Minho could press play, however, Jeongin spoke up.

“Outside?” he asked.

“Don’t you wanna watch the movie?” Jisung looked at Jeongin, who shook his head.

“Outside,” he stated again.

“He sure is a demanding one,” Minho muttered. Jisung picked up Jeongin and placed him on his hip.

“Alright bub, outside it is.” Jisung gestured for Minho to grab the child’s shoes while he got theirs. Jeongin giggled happily as they stepped into Jisung’s backyard, eyes sparkling with excitement. As soon as Jisung had slipped his shoes on, he was running (more like waddling) away from them, chasing the birds and screeching when he saw a bunny. Minho watched fondly as his best friend and his classmate’s son played around. He hadn’t seen Jisung this content in a while. He was always stressed and had dark bags under his eyes due to his tendency to produce music for his classes late at night. While Jisung was a music major, Minho majored in physics. He usually spent his late nights trying to figure out what calculation errors he had made. Basically, those two were tired and deserved a day to just relax, even if a certain little boy happened to spend it with them. The universe seemed to not think the same.

“Hey, Minho! Come here! Look at what Jeongin found!” Jisung yelled at him. He lightly jogged over to the edge of the woods where Jisung’s backyard ended and where the two boys were crouching and observing something stuck in the dirt. Minho slowed to a stop, kneeling down next to Jisung. He followed Jisung’s gaze.

“Jisung what stupid thing did you find now? I told you I don’t care about the weird anime cards you lost last week,” Minho said with a roll of his eyes. However, when Minho examined the object, he realized it wasn’t something of Jisung’s, at least something he hadn’t seen.

Sticking out of the dirt was a shiny round object, resembling a compass. Instead of having an arrow, there was a miniature shining rod made of a glossy lilac stone. The purple rod spun just like an arrow, but there was no arrowhead and the rod was cylindrical instead of flat. It looked like something out of a fantasy movie. 

Jeongin looked up at Jisung with pleading eyes, silently asking permission to pick it up. Jisung looked at Minho. Minho shrugged. What’s the worst that can happen?

Jeongin extended his arm out, tiny hands grasping the object. He lifted it out of the dirt, brushing away the debris. Jeongin turned it around in his hands a few times, examining it closely. Jisung started at it.

“Uncle ‘quirrel? What is it?” Jeongin asked, curious eyes glancing up at Jisung.

“What is it?” he whispered to Minho.

“It was in _your_ backyard! How do you expect me to know what it is?” he whisper-yelled back. 

“What if it hurts him!” Jisung gasped.

“Well we can’t take it away now, he’ll cry.”

“But if it hurts him, Chan’ll have your head!” Jisung said smugly.

“Uncle ‘quirrel?” Jeongin pulled on Jisung’s shirt. Jisung didn’t turn to look at the scared boy and continued to fight with Minho.

“I’m not the only one babysitting him. It’ll be your fault too!” Minho said, aspirated. 

“Well if you hadn’t agreed to babysit him we wouldn’t be here in the first place! We could have been watching another movie or, better yet, enjoying ramen!” He exclaimed.

“Was I supposed to turn Chan down?! And besides, you didn’t seem like you minded a few minutes ago!” Minho retorted. Jisung flinched at his harsh tone.

“Uncle Minho?” Jeongin tried again. 

“Yeah well, a few minutes ago isn’t now!” Jisung yelled back, crossing his arms like a child.

“Why are we even fighting?!” Minho yelled back.

“Uncle ‘quirrel!” Jeongin screamed, a sharp high-pitched shriek, not too far off from a dolphin, waving his arms around in panic. Jisung turned to look at Jeongin but all he could see was a blinding purple light engulfing the three of them.

Jisung awoke with a pounding headache. He squinted at the bright light shining down on him, hand going up to cover his eyes from the sun’s rays. He groaned and turned over onto his side. He froze.

_Since when did my backyard have cobblestone?_

When Jisung finally regained himself, he understood that it wasn’t his backyard. It wasn’t anyone’s backyard. It wasn’t even Paris!

Jisung stood up, tripping over the long piece of white cloth covering his body. Jisung couldn’t remember putting this on. He couldn’t remember anything past when Jeongin entered the living room.

_Jeongin! Oh my God, I lost Chan's kid, he’s gonna kill me! And Minho! We’re gonna die and I haven't even made out with him yet!_

Jisung felt tears pooling in his eyes. He sniffled quietly. He was lost in this city all by himself with no way of getting back home. Usually, Minho would be here to calm him down, but it was almost impossible to find the elder in the huge crowd. He wiped at his tears, there was no use in crying. He had to find a way out of here.

Jisung wrapped the white cloth around himself tighter, feeling bare and exposed. Everyone else was dressed in the same manner. Large groups of people passed him, all heading the same direction, chattering constantly. He tried to catch the attention of a passerby but none of them seemed to understand him. Eventually, he gave up on English and reverted to French. This caught some people’s attention. They couldn’t understand everything he said, but it seemed like they could understand a few words. Jisung quickly realized they were speaking Latin. Ancient Latin. Meaning that Jisung was in Ancient Rome. 

The white cloth around his body suddenly made sense. He was wearing a toga.

He racked his brain for any glimpse of memory to tell him how exactly he ended up in _Ancient Rome_ of all places but came up empty-handed in that area. What he did remember was that he had taken Latin in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade since it was mandatory. Hopefully, he could pull through with enough vocabulary to comprehend something and find Minho and Jeongin.

“ _Salve!_ [hello] _”_ He greeted someone. The tall man turned to him with a smile and greeted him back. “ _Ubi omnes eunt?_ [where is everyone going?] _”_ Jisung asked. The man pointed to a large oval structure that looked similar to a stretched out stadium. It was tall and in pristine condition, white stone walls intricately carved with special Roman patterns.

“ _Imus ad Circus Maximus_ , [we are going to the _Circus Maximus_ ]” he exclaimed. Jisung thanked the man before proceeding towards the large stadium-like structure. It loomed over him as he got closer, making him feel smaller than Minho’s friend, Changbin. 

His eyes caught on someone in the crowd with dyed orange-red hair. No one had _that_ color in Ancient Rome so it could only be one person.

“Minho!” Jisung yelled. The boy with the abnormally colored hair turned around. He sighed in relief at seeing a familiar face. 

Jisung rushed towards the elder, embracing him tightly. He was okay now, he had Minho. Jisung whimpered into Minho’s shoulder, tears starting to pile up again. The elder wrapped an arm around Jisung’s waist, pressing a comforting kiss to the crown of his head.

“You’re okay, Sungie,” he whispered, stroking his hair softly. Jisung quickly wiped at the tears, face heating up under Minho’s intense gaze. 

Minho glanced behind him and shoved him away harshly, looking anywhere but at him. Jisung stumbled back, still not used to the new clothing. He looked up at Minho, confused and heartbroken.

“We should get going. I saw Jeongin head to that place,” Minho said, straightening his toga and starting to walk. Jisung jogged to catch up.

“Don’t you know what it’s called? Did you even pay attention in Latin class?” Jisung asked teasingly, trying to forget what had just happened. 

“Not really, but I still passed,” Minho smirked. Jisung rolled his eyes and tugged Minho’s arms.

“The faster we find Jeongin, the sooner we can focus on getting out of here.”

It was almost impossible to find Jeongin in the huge crowd. The entire city of Rome came to watch the chariot races at the Circus Maximus! Not to mention the number of pickpocketers, kidnappers, and dangerous politicians. While Jisung was freaking out over the disappearance of Jeongin, Minho was working on trying to fix the time travel device.

He had noticed the thin cylinder that was in the place of the arrow had changed direction. Minho thought maybe if he spun it around he could get it to work. He didn’t dare try it, in fear of accidentally leaving Jeongin or Jisung behind. That would be a nightmare to explain to Chan. And he couldn’t imagine his life without his the cuddly squirrel.

He kept the device tightly clutched in one fist. He grabbed Jisung’s hand with the other so they wouldn’t get lost, unaware of the blush that dusted the younger’s chubby cheeks when he intertwined their fingers.

The two arrived quickly at the gate of the Circus Maximus, eyes scanning the crowd for their little friend. Minho pointed at the middle stand.

“There!” Jisung looked up, hand covering his eyes from the sun.

“I see him! Come on!” He whispered. The two of them climbed the stands in a rush, pushing past the Romans who angrily yelled at them for getting in the way of their view. Jisung glanced down at the track, seeing the seven chariots fly pass the turn, one of them crashing and bursting into pieces. Jisung winced. He wouldn’t want to be that guy.

After much shoving, the two boys managed to reach Jeongin, who was happily watching the race. 

“Alright, come on, let’s go,” Jisung said, picking up Jeongin and placing the toddler on his hip. “I think you’ve seen enough races for today.”

“Come back?” Jeongin asked. 

“Sure,” Minho lied. “Appa can bring you back sometime.”

Jisung huffed and put Jeongin down. The three of them managed to squeeze their way out of the Circus Maximus with angering a minimal amount of locals. Jisung almost got a cup to the head, though.

“Okay, I think I figured out how it works,” Minho started. “You turn this thing here and-”

“Don’t show us just do it!” Jisung interjected. Minho rolled his eyes but complied. He turned the lilac stone rod delicately, spinning it to the right centimeter by centimeter. Jisung and Jeongin watched anxiously. Jisung grabbed Minho’s toga and Jeongin’s hand, making sure they were all connected in some kind of way.

The compass made a small clicking sound before it wouldn’t budge anymore. Minho looked at them in confusion.

“I was so sure that it would-” Before Minho could finish his sentence, a familiar purple light blinded their sight.

Minho woke up with a start. They had done it; they were home! He looked around and his smile dropped. They were most certainly _not_ home. 

_How many times do we have to turn this thing?!_

He glanced at the compass in his pocket, eyes widening when he saw the purple rod was missing. He frantically searched his clothes, sighing in relief when the missing rod was found in his breast pocket. He wasn’t quite sure how he was going to repair the compass, but right now he had to find Jisung and Jeongin. 

Minho stuffed the two parts back into his pockets and brushed off his clothes (which were something he would never be caught dead in). He pushed himself off the ground and looked around.

This period was definitely more advanced than Ancient Rome but before the industrial revolution. Minho guessed about the 1400s - 1700s. Taking another glance at his surroundings, Minho knew he had lost Jisung and Jeongin again. He could only hope those two were together. While Ancient Rome was easy to distinguish with its architecture and language, this new place was much harder.

“Excuse me?” He asked one of the locals. The woman turned toward him. She was probably in her late 30s, her long chestnut hair braided and resting on her shoulder. She was wearing a long dress with a square neckline. The dress was a dark yellow while the trim was maroon. Her sleeves were long and loose.

“Yes sir?” The woman replied kindly. Good; they spoke English. Maybe he was in the states?

“Where am I?”

“Well, you’re on Baker Street, love!”

“Oh, so where Sherlock lives?” The woman gave him a weird look.

“Don’t know about no Sherlock living here. Must be a new bloke,” she mused.

“Oops, I guess that wasn’t written yet,” he muttered. He decided to try a different approach “Who’s the queen?” The woman gasped at him, hand going up to cover her mouth in shock.

“You don’t know the queen?! Queen Elizabeth?!” She asked in disbelief. Oh. So they were in the Elizabethan era.

“Sorry, I’m a foreigner,” Minho lied. The woman nodded, although she still seemed suspicious.

“Well if you’re a foreigner, I recommend you watch one of the plays that have been going on ‘round here. Some bloke named Shakespeare writes ‘em. He’s good; very funny. A youngling like you would enjoy it.” She commented, heavy British accent drowning her words.

Minho hummed, only half listening to what she was saying. “Do you happen to know of another gu- bloke who passed by here? He had brown hair that covered his forehead.” The woman furrowed her eyebrows in concentration.

“Actually I do. He was a bit shorter than you and had a little boy with him. Is he your kin?” She asked.

“Something like that.”

“He went that way,” she said, pointing towards a theater. Minho tipped his hat, thanking her before running towards the theater. Minho grimaced at the tights and heeled shoes he was wearing. The Elizabethan era sucked in terms of fashion.

He finally arrived inside the theater with aching heels and itchy legs. Before he could even look around for Jisung and Jeongin, he was pulled away by someone.

“Hey! What are you doing?” He yelled.

“Oh hush! You’re late William! We have to get you in costume and get your makeup done!” The man pulling Minho angrily muttered. 

“I think you have the wrong person…” He trailed off awkwardly.

“No time for games William. And there’s no way you could forget me.”

“Who are you exactly?” He asked. The man stopped and looked at Minho, an annoyed expression plastered on his face. 

“Fine. Be like that. I am Alden, the leader of this acting troupe and your boss,” he glared. Minho gulped. “Now get on stage! Julian is already waiting for you.” 

“What play is this?” Minho asked tentatively, afraid of getting yelled at in William’s place.

“Are you serious? Only the best play in existence: _Romeo and Juliet_!” He yelled. Minho internally sighed. He had been in a production of _Romeo and Juliet_ before, so now he was just hoping he had the same role and could remember the lines from two years ago. Who was he kidding? He was going to make a fool of himself.

“I play Romeo, right?” 

“Of course! And Sam plays Juliet. Did you hit your head or something?”

“Sort of.” Alden rolled his eyes and shoved Minho into a corner of the room with a set of clothes that looked quite similar to the ones he already had on. 

“Wear these. You’re on stage in five minutes,” Alden said before walking away, probably to attend to other matters. 

Minho sighed but put the clothes on anyway. What’s he got to lose? It’s not like people here know who he is. 

After somehow fitting into the tight clothes meant for some guy named William who probably had the bubonic plague by now, Minho made his way to the entrance to the stage. Hidden behind the curtain, he could see a few actors on stage, among them, would be the characters Benvolio and Mercutio. 

Across the stage, hidden behind the black curtains was Jisung in a dress. Minho had to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud. He had forgotten one crucial detail: all roles were played by men. So when Alden had mentioned Sam, he was referring to a boy named Sam, who Jisung was currently being mistaken for. 

Jisung glared at Minho which only made him laugh harder because he couldn’t take Jisung seriously when he was wearing a long wig, high heels, a pink frilly dress, and bright red lipstick. Jisung rolled his eyes. Ignoring the mocking laughter coming from Minho, Jisung continued to point towards the audience. Minho got the signal and searched the crowd of Londoners. His eyes locked on a little boy near the front of the stage. Minho nodded towards Jisung, but before the other could respond, he was pushed onto the stage by another member of the troupe. Minho chuckled at Jisung’s lost expression.

However, his joy was short-lived because a few moments later he was the one being shoved on stage with a scolding about missing his cue.

Minho was lost. He had no idea where they were in the play or what he was supposed to say. The monologues had only stayed in his mind for a few days after the play! Luckily, Jisung seemed to be good at improvising. Jisung cleared his throat from where he was standing on the makeshift balcony. 

“O, Romeo! My hot Romeo! Wherefore art thou babe? Don’t listen to your dad, um, refuse thy name!” Minho smiled at Jisung. There wasn’t a moment he failed to make him laugh. 

If the audience had noticed something wrong, it didn’t show on their faces. They were all deeply invested in Jisung’s exaggerated performance and his modern words that they hadn’t learned before. Minho heard some of them muttering about the words “babe” and “hot”. Minho smirked. Jisung was making history.

“I’ll no longer be a cup! I mean Capulet!” Jisung said sheepishly. “Montagues aren’t arms and legs. Um, they’re people! Roses are sweet!” Jisung continued with his monologue, adding in random words and filling in the blanks. Minho could see Alden glaring at him from backstage. That was not going to be fun to deal with, but at least Jeongin seemed to be having fun. 

The two of them stumbled through the rest of the scene, making hilarious mistakes and jumbling words. The audience seemed to think it was a “modern” interpretation of Shakespeare’s play, which worked well for Jisung and Minho since they had no idea what they were doing. Jeongin was in the front of the audience, clapping and giggling excitedly. Minho was happy that for once, a child seemed to like him, or at least not hate his guts. 

When the scene finally ended, Jisung pulled Minho backstage, tripping over his dress and falling into Minho’s arms.

“Help me out of this stupid dress. I can’t believe I did this! We are never speaking of this again,” Jisung threatened.

“Whatever, let’s just grab Jeongin and get out of here before we have to do another scene. I don’t remember enough _Romeo and Juliet_ for this,” Minho muttered. “Also, seems like someone wasn’t paying attention in English,” Minho teased.

“Yeah well, I passed so it doesn’t really matter,” Jisung retorted, sticking his tongue out. Jisung removed his brown wig, revealing his fluffy brown hair.

“You know, long hair doesn’t look too bad on you,” Minho mused. “Neither does that dress.”

“Shut up.”

As Jisung started taking off his heels, Alden walked over. The two of them froze.

“What the hell was that?!” He exclaimed.

“I can explain-”

“They loved it! You guys are a hit! And those poetic words! _Babe_! Ugh, much better than the original,” He said. Minho and Jisung looked at each other, confusion and disbelief written on their faces. 

“Um, thanks?” Jisung said. 

“Anyway, I need to check some of the props, but you guys will be on in ten minutes!” Alden said, rushing away.

“Oh hell no. I am not going back out there,” Jisung remarked, throwing his wig on the floor to punctuate his point. 

“Me neither,” Minho agreed. “Come on, let’s get Jeongin.”

“But I have to get out of this dress!”

“We don’t have time! And besides, it suits you well. Pink is totally your color,” Minho said with a smirk. Jisung huffed but followed anyway. As they turned the corner, they saw two guys surrounding Jeongin, one of them holding the little boy by the collar.

“Hey let him go! What do you think you’re doing!” Jisung yelled. Minho ran over and held off one of the guys while Jisung snatched Jeongin from the other. 

“This is my kid! Don’t you dare lay a finger on him!” Jisung said, protectively hugging Jeongin to his chest. Because of all the commotion, other members of the troupe who weren’t on stage gathered round, including Alden.

“What’s going on over here?!” He screamed. When he saw the five of them in the center of the circle his eyes widened. “What in the Queen’s name is going on?! William? Sam? Another William and Sam? Am I seeing double?” He said rubbing his eyes.

Minho looked at the guy Jisung was holding off. He had an uncanny resemblance to Minho, almost as if they were twins. Looking at Jisung and the guy Minho was holding off, he found the same results. No wonder they were mistaken for actors. 

Minho pulled Jisung and Jeongin away. 

“Sorry for the trouble! Here’s your costume! You’re on in two minutes!” Minho apologized and hastily threw his clothes at his doppelganger. 

“Take this itchy wig, you big idiot! I didn’t want it anyway!” Jisung yelled as well, tossing his wig and heels at the other. Before anyone could get over their initial shock, Jisung and Minho dashed out of the theater, Jeongin giggling happily in Jisung’s arms. 

“Airplane zoom zoom!” he exclaimed. Jisung made a noise of approval to keep Jeongin happy.

Once they had run what they deemed was far enough, Jisung put Jeongin down with a huff, keeping hold of his hand so the little rascal wouldn’t run away again.

Jeongin quickly put his arms back up, pouting at Jisung.

“What now?” Jisung complained.

“Up,” Jeongin demanded. Jisung sighed before picking up the kid once more, setting him on his hip. Jeongin giggled happily, tucking his head into Jisung’s shoulder. Minho watched as Jisung smiled fondly, kissing Jeongin’s head, eliciting a yawn from the sleepy baby. 

“He really likes you,” Minho commented, eyes still trained on the compass. Jisung hummed thoughtfully, bouncing Jeongin on his hip to lull the boy to sleep.

“I guess.”

“Uncle ‘Quirrel is the bestest,” came Jeongin’s muffled reply. Jisung smiled widely, looking at Minho to check his reaction. Minho chuckled and shook his head fondly. 

“What’s taking so long?” Jisung asked, peering at the compass. He gasped. “Minho! Did you break it?!” He whisper-yelled.

“It was like that when I woke up! Now shut up, I’m trying to work.” Jisung huffed once more but let Minho continue while he entertained Jeongin.

Jisung’s arms were aching but he couldn’t stand the puppy eyes Jeongin would give him if he put the boy down. Jeongin looked up at him and poked his cheek, giggling. 

“Hi cutie,” Jisung cooed, nuzzling his nose against Jeongin’s cheek.

“Uncle ‘Quirrel like Appa,” Jeongin said, clutching Jisung’s dress in his tiny fist.

“Is that so?” Jeongin nodded.

“And Uncle Min Min is like Daddy.” Jisung glanced at Minho, wondering if he heard the boy’s comparison. Jisung sighed when Minho didn’t even turn around, unaware of the smile he was hiding.

“I guess,” Jisung eventually agreed.

“Jisung come on! I got it!” Minho called, waving the two boys over. The eldest held up the compass. It looked a bit lopsided, messily reassembled, but it would do the trick. 

“Alright. Last try, I hope this works,” Minho said. Jisung held onto Minho’s white puffy clown collar, stifling a laugh at the way it looked around his neck. Minho gave him a pointed look, referring to the pink frilly dress he hadn’t gotten a chance to remove. Jisung shut up after that.

“Ready to go home, buddy?” Minho asked. Jeongin nodded.

“Appa?” he asked with a pout.

“Yeah, let’s go see Appa now.” And with that the three boys let themselves be dragged in by the incandescent purple light.

Jisung awoke with a gasp and looked around. He collapsed back onto his bed, in his house, in his time. He was home. Next to him, Minho was still passed out with Jeongin. Jisung smiled fondly. Jeongin would have a lot to tell Chan.

He heard a groan coming from Minho, who had just begun to wake up.

“Morning sleepyhead,” Jisung greeted.

“Are we home?” Minho asked. Jisung smiled and nodded. Minho collapsed back onto the bed, much like Jisung had done minutes before.

“I do not want to do that ever again,” Minho said.

“I’m glad we feel the same,” Jisung chuckled.

“What was the device anyway? I can’t seem to remember it.” Jisung paused. He couldn’t remember it either.

“That’s weird, neither can I.”

“I’m sure there was some sort of round device…” Minho trailed off.

“I was pretty sure too. Maybe we made up the device?”

“Maybe. But there was no way we made up Ancient Rome or that play.” Jisung hummed in agreement. Minho looked down at his phone, typing something into the search bar before laughing out loud.

“What?” Jisung questioned. 

“You made history!” Minho exclaimed between laughs. Jisung took the phone from Minho, and sure enough, there it was.

_Word: Babe. Origin: First documented use was in 1572 by the actor Samuel (Sam) Jones in a modern interpretation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet._

Jisung cackled. “What have I done!” he screeched, looking at the phone in disbelief. Their laughter woke up Jeongin, who, as they now know, was extremely grumpy after naps. 

Luckily they didn’t have to deal with the grumpy baby for the door rang. Jisung jumped up to go open it while Minho scooped a sleepy Jeongin into his arms to go meet Chan. As soon as Jeongin saw his father, he jumped out of Minho’s arms and ran towards him.

“Appa!” He squealed.

“Hey baby, did you have fun with Uncle Jisung and Minho?”

“Yup! We went to Rome!” He exclaimed. Jisung panicked.

“It was uh, we were playing pretend. Educational pretend,” Jisung lied. Chan nodded his head awkwardly.

“Then I watched a play! And Uncle Minho and Uncle ‘Quirrel were in it!” the boy continued.

“We played dress up,” Minho explained.

“That sounds like lots of fun, but we gotta go now. It’s past your bedtime,” Chan said. He looked up at Jisung and Minho.

“Thanks so much for looking after him. You guys are lifesavers.”

“No problem!” Jisung said with a sweet smile. Chan waved before climbing into his car and driving away, Jeongin waving enthusiastically at the pair. 

Jisung and Minho sighed. 

“I’m ready to just sleep for an entire week,” Jisung said in an overexaggerated manner.

“Same,” Minho quickly agreed.

“So,” Jisung started, “ _Avengers: Infinity War_?” Minho nodded, plopping down on the couch with his now cold popcorn. Jisung sat beside him, smiling at him before pressing play.

They were halfway through the movie before Jisung spoke up. 

“Minho, I’m bored.”

“Well, what do you want me to do about it, Sungie?” Minho asked, pausing the movie and shifting to face Jisung. The younger shrugged, cowering into himself slightly at the tone of Minho’s voice.

He knew that after today’s events Minho was really stressed. Time travel had taken a toll on both of them, but sometimes he wished Minho would be less cold with him. He understood that it was part of his personality, but they’ve known each other for more than ten years!

He dug into his skin with his nails. Minho sighed and gently took his hand.

“Don’t do that, you’ll hurt yourself,” he reprimanded. “What’s up with you, Sungie? You’ve been quieter and shyer around me for the past month. Don’t think I didn’t notice it. Was it something I did?”

Jisung shook his head quickly. “You didn’t do anything. I guess I’m just tired or something,” he mumbled.

“We both know that’s bullshit.” Jisung sighed. 

“How long have we known each other?” he asked out of the blue.

“I don’t know, eighteen years? What has that got to do with any of this?” Minho asked, watching as Jisung leaned back on the couch. He really did look tired but in a different way. He was still hyper, he wouldn’t be Jisung if he wasn’t. However, he seemed emotionally tired, like there was a big burden he was carrying around. “You know you can tell me anything Sungie. I know I’m mean, I tease you, bully you, push you away, and all that, but I do care about you.”

Jisung hummed pensively. “We’ve known each other for eighteen years-”

“I just said that-”

“-twelve of which I spent crushing on a boy. He was nice to me when we were kids, he would look after me, protect me from the older kids at the playground, and defend me when someone yelled at me," Jisung took a shaky breath. He wanted to stop, but he was already running on adrenaline. 

“Jisung-”

“As we got older, he started going out with girls and for a year or two, I thought he wasn’t gay and that maybe I needed to move on. But then he dated a guy.” Jisung paused, glancing over at Minho to see his reaction. When he saw that Minho was listening, he continued, spilling out all of his bottled emotions.

“I don’t know if I was happy or sad then. My crush was gay, but he was already dating someone. Someone that wasn’t me. And I know that sounds really selfish and mean, but I couldn’t help resent the guy, even when he had done nothing wrong.

“He was so pretty. He was tall too. I still thought that you were better though.” Jisung didn’t even try hiding the fact that the boy was Minho anymore. Despite unconsciously knowing it was him, Minho still sucked in a breath at its confirmation. 

“Why do you keep ignoring me? Why are you mean to me? You have these mood swings where one minute you’re laughing _at_ me and then the next you’re laughing _with_ me. You think it’s a joke, but it really hurts. Am I not good enough? Am I not pretty enough? Do you not want a relationship? I give you my heart every single day, but by the end of the day, you return it in pieces. And every night I mend it back together, only for the same thing to happen again!

“You’re killing me, Minho," he sighed, aspirated. "When I woke up in Rome without you, I was so scared. I can’t lose you, literally or figuratively, again. It hurts so much Min,” Jisung said, tears pooling in his eyes. He wiped at them, rubbing harshly and huffing in frustration. He sighed, knowing it was futile when more tears were bound to spill. “It hurts that you don’t want me.” 

Minho paused, staring at Jisung who looked so… broken. And it was his fault. He knew he was cold a lot of the time, but Jisung didn’t seem to have a problem with it. He should’ve known that the sensitive boy would have taken his actions to heart. Minho leaned over, arms outstretched to bring Jisung into a hug. The boy flinched but then relaxed in Minho’s hold, sniffling quietly.

“Jisung, I’ve known you for eighteen years,” Minho started, mimicking Jisung’s confession. “Seven of which I spent crushing on the cutest boy to ever exist.” Jisung looked up at him, eyes wide and mouth unconsciously opened. “I know I’ve been an asshole to you, but I really do like you, Sungie.”

“You’re not just saying that, are you?” Jisung asked quietly. Minho shook his head but the subconscious doubts didn’t go away.

_What if Minho was doing this out of pity? What if it was a joke? What if I’m just another kid to babysit to him? What if I-_

“I really do like you, Jisung.”

And just like that, the doubts vanished, the voices were cut off, and Jisung found his peace. 

Jisung giggled happily, crawling into Minho’s lap and pressing his forehead firmly against the elder’s. He could feel Jisung’s warm breath fanning his face and the slight tremble of his thighs from where they were pressed against his hips. He could smell the familiar scent of Jisung, one he had grown to love over the years. Jisung was like a feeling you got when the breeze in the park picked up: intense euphoria. 

Minho stared at the boy perched delicately on his lap. He had known him for eighteen years, and only now, after going through hell and back, could Minho finally call the younger his. Minho ran a hand through Jisung’s hair, pushing his bangs back and watching as Jisung let his eyes close. His other hand rested on Jisung’s thigh, squeezing softly.

Jisung whined quietly, impatient and frustrated because of Minho’s teasing. Minho raised an eyebrow, watching Jisung fluster under his gaze.

“Minho,” he whined again. Minho hummed, not listening to Jisung, and instead ran his fingers up and down Jisung’s soft legs, causing the boy to squirm in his grip. “Minho-”

Minho leaned forward, brushing his lips against Jisung’s. Jisung hummed contently against him, hands going into Minho’s orange-red hair and pressing his lips firmly against Minho, done waiting for so long to have this moment of bliss. Minho slipped his hands under Jisung’s (his) hoodie, gripping his tiny waist. The boy shuddered at the cold hands roaming his abdomen, tightening his hold on Minho’s shoulder.

Minho could’ve stayed like this forever, surrounded by Jisung, his scent, his touch, his love. He cupped Jisung’s cheeks carefully, bringing him closer and kissing him harder.

Jisung clung onto Minho tightly, body melting under his fingertips. He felt lightheaded like it was too good to be true, like the world was spinning faster, like there wasn’t going to be another breath. There was so much going on, the cool hand on his waist, the faint taste of mint accompanied with honey, Minho’s tongue poking out to swipe across his bottom lip… 

Jisung couldn’t hear anything, only the pounding of his own heart and veins resonating through his head and ears. His thoughts were filled with one thing: Minho. Minho, Minho, Minho, Minho-

“Minho,” Jisung sighed out when they broke apart, chest heaving and lips slick with spit. He fisted his hands in Minho’s shirt, trying to tug him closer desperately. 

“I’m right here, Jisung,” Minho assured. He pecked Jisung on the lips, enjoying the way Jisung chased after them with a whine. The younger sighed and leaned against Minho, tucking his face into the crook of his neck. Minho stroked his hair, smiling when Jisung let out a satisfied hum.

“Minho?”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s get married.” 

Minho laughed, squeezing the younger and cooing over his cuteness. “Don’t you think it’s too early?” he asked, going along with Jisung. Jisung shook his head.

“I’ve been waiting for eighteen fucking years!” He exclaimed. “We’re getting married now.”

“Now?”

“Yup!” Jisung sat up, kissing him once more. “There. Now we’re married,” he said giggling. 

“Alright, my lovely husband. Anything for you.”

“I prefer ethereal, actually,” came Jisung’s sassy reply. Minho rolled his eyes fondly.

“Next you’ll tell me you want a kid,” Minho chuckled. Jisung looked up hopefully.

“Sungie no.”

“Sungie yes.”

**Bonus** :

It had been a few weeks since the time travel incident. Despite protests from Minho, they did end up adopting kids, three of them to be precise. 

“Doongie!” Jisung shrieked. He quickly rushed over to the cat, picking her up and taking her off the couch. “Minho!” Jisung whined. “Your cat pissed on the couch again!”

“She’s _ours_ , first of all,” Minho said calmly, walking into the living room with a cup of coffee. “And second, wasn’t it your idea to get married and adopt a kid?” Minho teased.

“Well, I didn’t know Doongie was gonna be such a brat!”

“Hey! That’s our child you’re talking about!”

“Minho!” Jisung whined again.

“Yes, baby?” Jisung froze. Minho smirked. He walked over to where Jisung was still holding Doongie, pressing a kiss to Jisung’s cheek and taking Doongie from him. “I’ll clean this up. You watch your twin’s kid.” Minho slapped Jisung’s butt (which earned a yelp of protest from the younger) before going to clean up the mess.

After Jeongin, babysitting had become a trend for them. A lot of their friends had asked them to babysit their children because they knew Jisung and Minho had nothing to do and Jisung was too nice to turn them down. So here they were, playing outside in the garden with Seungmin, Changbin and Felix’s kid. Soonie, Doongie, and Dori trailed after him, meowing when Seungmin giggled and reached over to pet them softly.

“Hey, Minho! Look at what Minnie found!” Jisung exclaimed. Minho jogged over, eager to see what Seungmin was holding in his hand. The four-year-old looked up at Minho curiously, holding his hand out to display the object. It was a round compass looking object, except the arrow was replaced by a thin purple rod made from some precious stone. Minho could have sworn he had seen it somewhere, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He glanced at Jisung, who seemed to be thinking the same thing. 

Minho gently took the round object from Seungmin, turning it over in his hand. Seungmin crawled beside him, hands resting on Minho’s thighs. Jisung had a hand on Minho’s shoulder as he tried to decipher the object. 

He poked and prodded at the sparkling purple rod watching it slowly spin to the right. A small click was heard. Seungmin looked up at Minho, confused. The object started glowing a bright purple and suddenly Jisung and Minho knew why it was so familiar. Minho cursed.

“Here we go again.”

**Author's Note:**

> my sister said i'm not funny ;-; sorry  
> anyways this was actually really fun to write!! i'm actually satisfied with this :)
> 
> twt: [oi_felix](https://twitter.com/oi_felix)


End file.
